THE future of a Winchester festival is in doubt without a five-figure cash injection in the near future.

Winchester Heritage Open Days (HODs) has grown from 40 events in 2016 to 140 this year but has become a victim of its own success.

Organised entirely by volunteers, there is an urgent need for a full-time coordinator to be appointed, says a member of the board of the Hampshire History Trust, Richard North.

The festival has been run by Nicky Gottlieb and Becky Brown, but Ms Brown resigned earlier this year.

Mr North said: "It is going from strength to strength on the outside but the event has got too successful to be run by two volunteers, albeit brilliant.

"People cannot believe it's volunteer-led. People think it has some sort of council backing. We are going to start a fundraising campaign and need £10,000."

That will pay for a coordinator to organise the 2023 events.

Mr North added: "Our future is certainly in doubt. Unless we can find money for a festival coordinator role the Winchester History Trust doesn't think we can carry on.

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"It is a key part of Winchester's year, economically. If that went the city would lose a lot of visitors drawn by the HOD events. Visitors would still come but not as many. HODs get the word out about Winchester. It would be a real shame as there is so much positive energy about HODs."

Ms Gottlieb, chairman of the history trust, said: “Winchester HODs is a huge Hampshire success story. But behind the scenes, our team relies wholly on volunteers, and we can’t sustain this success. Even with generous help from Winchester College and BID, we simply don’t have the resources to carry on as we are. It’s not too late to change this; but we need to act quickly to raise the money to fund a festival coordinator for 2023, and put us on a longer-term footing not just to survive, but to thrive. So we’re asking all our supporters to lend a hand: any donation, large or small, will help- as will an hour or two of support with social media, fundraising or sponsorship. Winchester HODs needs you”.

The HistBites podcast channel has currently been suspended until a new coordinator is found.

One idea is to launch a membership scheme as the festival has 1,600 people on its mailing list.

The festival has sponsorship from Winchester College and Winchester Business Improvement District.